Sunday, January 30, 2011

Ice, Ice, Baby

Andrew and I journeyed out to Bedaihe to see the frozen sea. I was a timid little mouse and squeaked every time the ice crunched under my feet, terrified that it was going to crack and send us plunging under the ice to die a frigid, panicked death. I think I've seen "Little Women" too many times for my own good.

European style buildings in Bedaihe

It's pretty cold here, though I couldn't tell you the exact temperature since our outside thermometer froze into inaction. I didn't even know that was possible.

Pedro, the previous Ao Jia teacher, came back to Qinhuangdao to visit this week. We got to have dinner with him a few times, and it was fun being able to talk to someone who completely understood what it was like to have our job.

Next week is Spring Festival (did you all get your cards?) and we'll be spending it with Helen and John making dumplings, setting off fireworks, and watching Communist-propaganda TV. We even get a four day weekend in honor of this festive event (see Andrew's explanation of a "Chinese holiday" and you'll understand that we still work the same number of hours this month, just redistributed). Check back in next week for more details on this sure-to-be exciting event.